So I just bought this card on eBay and after checking on psa the holofoil doesn’t match the 1 with the photo on eBay. … Could he have cracked the slab open and put a fake 1 in it?
u/Past-Philosophy8647 on r/IsMyPokemonCardFake, May 2026
It’s a fair question, and most collectors never ask it. We treat a PSA slab as the end of the argument: if the cert number checks out, the card is real. PSA doesn’t. Its own cert lookup page warns that “criminals do attempt to counterfeit PSA grading inserts using actual certification numbers derived from public sources.” A fake slab can carry a real cert number, and the lookup will look perfectly normal.
So the lookup is the first check, not the only one. This page covers the ways slabs get faked, how to use the lookup properly, what to look for on the label and the case, and what to do if you’ve already bought one. It applies to sports cards and Pokémon alike.
How slabs get faked
Some fakes are counterfeit from top to bottom, with a fake case, a fake label and a fake card. That’s common with high-value Pokémon like the 1st Edition Charizard, and they’re often sold through social media for payment you can’t reverse. Others put a real but low-grade card in a counterfeit case with a better grade on the label. Some start from a genuine PSA case that’s been cracked open, had its card swapped for a fake or lower-grade copy, and been glued shut. And some use a cloned label: a fake label printed with a real cert number and card details copied from a listing or from PSA’s database, so the lookup says “valid”.
Then there are altered cards: real cards that have been trimmed, recolored, pressed or cleaned to look like a better grade. They aren’t counterfeits, but they aren’t what you’re paying for either, and PSA’s 2025 Fraud Report found altered Pokémon submissions up more than 400% in a year.
UltimateTAW goes through the common tells on camera:
The cert lookup
Type psacard.com/cert into your browser yourself, or use the official PSA app, rather than following a link or QR code from the seller. There are reports of fake verification sites built to “confirm” fake cert numbers.
Start with the basics: year, set, card number, player or Pokémon, variety and grade. A mismatch, or “not found”, ends the conversation. Most recent certs also have PSA’s own photos of the card, and those are what catch a cloned label. I’d compare the centering first, since it’s easy to see and a clone almost never matches. Then look at print specks, edge nicks and where the holo sits.
The record also lists the label type and whether the label has a cert number and barcode on the back. If the record says there’s no back barcode and your slab has one, or the reverse, the label isn’t the one PSA made. Finally, search the cert number on eBay and Google. The same cert in several active listings means someone is cloning it.
A cert that scans means very little on its own, as this buyer found:
i am afraid i got scammed today aswell, how can they fake psa 10 with correct scan code ?
u/IllustriousJump2710 on r/pkmntcgcollections, February 2026
For an expensive slab, you can ask PSA to review it before you buy. Its buyer’s guide says: “There is nothing wrong with asking a seller to make a deal contingent on PSA’s confirmation.” A seller who won’t agree to that has told you something.
The label
PSA labels since June 2017 carry several security features. Tilt the slab from side to side and the “Lighthouse” logo at the bottom of the label should hide and reveal a background pattern, “NASDAQ: CLCT” on labels from 2017 to early 2021 and “PSA” after that. A printed, flat logo doesn’t change. The front and back of the label have a wavy “fugitive ink” background that runs if someone tries to wash the label with solvents. Under a blacklight, the PSA logo on the back of the label shows smaller PSA logos. And the QR code on the back should open the cert page on psacard.com, so check the address it goes to.
Hold the slab up to a strong light as well. On a real label you can make out the text printed on the back of the label through the front. A fake label laid over a real one is too thick to see through, and you may spot the edges of the original underneath. Compare the letter shapes, spacing and alignment with a real slab from the same era, and scan the barcode, which should decode to the cert number on the label. In one documented scam ring, every fake label carried the same barcode.
The label style should fit the date. A card graded in 2025 shouldn’t be in a pre-2017 label, and a “NASDAQ: CLCT” hologram on a recent cert is a red flag. Old certs in old labels are completely normal.
The case
PSA cases are sonically welded shut. They’re designed to show tampering rather than prevent it, since PSA has to be able to open them to reholder a card, so a cracked-and-resealed case leaves signs. PSA’s buyer’s guide lists them. A broken weld leaves a cloudy, frosted look along the edges, sometimes with small cracks. A welded case is “very firm, virtually inflexible”, and a broken one becomes flexible again, even glued. On a glued case, pressing a fingernail along the edge can make it crack and pop open. Look for glue or uneven seams all the way around.
It helps to know which case to expect. In May 2024 PSA introduced a new standard holder, 20% heavier than the old one at the same size and with no inner plastic sleeve, so the card doesn’t move. It started with sports cards. PSA Japan has used it for Pokémon since June 2024, but US Pokémon grades still come back in a mix of old and new holders, so an older-style case isn’t suspicious in itself. What I’d question is a slab that claims to be the new holder yet feels light and flimsy.
The card itself
The card inside can be checked like any raw card, through the plastic: the print quality, the lettering, the holo, the color, and the back if you can see it. For Pokémon, the guide to spotting fake Pokémon cards covers what to look for, and the Charizard, Pikachu and Gengar pages cover the most-faked cards. One documented fake “PSA 10” 1st Edition Charizard gave itself away with a case that was “far too clean”, corners that were too rounded and text that was too bold.
Which cards end up in fake slabs
PSA’s fraud report counts counterfeit cards sent in for grading, not fake slabs in the market, but the cards counterfeiters fake most are also the ones most worth putting in a fake slab. In 2025 the top ten were:
- 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan #57
- 2014 Pokémon XY Flashfire M Charizard EX #108
- 2014 Pokémon XY Flashfire M Charizard EX #69
- 1999 Pokémon Base Set Charizard #4, 1st Edition
- 2023 Pokémon SV Promo Pikachu With Grey Felt Hat #085
- 2016 Pokémon XY Generations M Charizard EX #12
- 2019 Pokémon Team Up Latias & Latios GX #170
- 2000 SkyBox Impact Tom Brady #27
- 1989 Fleer Bill Ripken #616 (FF error)
- 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311
Most of those aren’t five-figure cards. PSA says counterfeiters now go after “the $10 or $20 bill instead of the $100”, meaning cards with a big name, simple printing and a solid graded price. I wouldn’t assume a $300 slab is too cheap to fake.
Does PSA grade fake cards?
Not knowingly. PSA’s grading standards say it won’t grade cards “of questionable authenticity”. A suspected fake gets the code N4, “Questionable Authenticity”, and comes back in a card saver rather than a slab, with the grading fee still charged. PSA doesn’t keep or destroy counterfeits. It photographs them for its database and returns them to whoever sent them.
Mistakes are rare, but collectors have documented counterfeits that made it into real PSA slabs, and that’s what the PSA Guarantee is for. PSA also “does not always print the term ‘Altered’ on the label itself,” so a slab that just says “Authentic” may hold an altered card.
The PSA Guarantee doesn’t cover fake slabs
The guarantee covers PSA’s own mistakes, and only in a genuine PSA case. If a card in a real PSA slab turns out to be fake or over-graded, PSA will buy it back or pay the difference, up to $250,000 per card. But the terms exclude “tampered or counterfeit holders and/or labels (regardless of certification status)”. If the slab itself is fake, PSA owes you nothing, and your money has to come back from the seller or the platform. That makes where you buy as important as what you check.
Where to buy
On eBay, single cards selling for $200 or more, raw or graded by PSA, SGC, CGC or Beckett, go through the Authenticity Guarantee: an authenticator inspects the card before it ships. If the slab is fake you get a refund, and PSA deactivates the cert. That’s the route I’d take for anything expensive.
PSA’s cert page names Craigslist, Mercari and OfferUp as “not recommended”. I’d also avoid any payment you can’t reverse: crypto, wire transfers, Zelle and PayPal Friends & Family all leave you with no protection. One seller of fake PSA 10 Charizards documented on Elite Fourum took Bitcoin only. And as PSA puts it: “If a deal is significantly below market value, it may indicate an issue with authenticity.”
If you’ve already bought a fake slab
- Don’t crack it open. The slab is your evidence.
- Photograph the slab next to the cert page, and screenshot the listing and your messages with the seller.
- Open a claim quickly. On eBay, open a return as counterfeit or not as described. For trading cards, if the seller doesn’t accept returns you have only 3 days from delivery (otherwise it’s the seller’s return window), so check the card the day it arrives. If eBay sees strong signs it’s counterfeit, you may not have to send it back. If you paid with PayPal Goods & Services, open a “significantly not as described” claim within 30 days of delivery.
- Report the cert number to PSA through its support form. If the slab turns out to be real and PSA made the mistake, that’s a Guarantee claim.
- For a large loss, file a police report and a report with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
This kind of fraud does get prosecuted. In January 2026 a federal jury in New York convicted Anthony Curcio of wire fraud for selling sports and Pokémon cards with fake PSA grades. According to prosecutors, he cleaned the grades and serial numbers off real PSA labels, printed fake 9s and 10s, and sold the cards on eBay and at card shops and shows, trying to take victims for more than $2 million.
If grading is new to you, start with what a slab is, what PSA does and the main grading companies.
Fake PSA slab FAQ
If the cert number checks out, is the slab real?
Not necessarily. Real cert numbers get printed on fake labels, so compare the card in the slab with PSA’s photos for that cert, starting with the centering.
Does PSA grade fake cards?
Not knowingly. A suspected counterfeit gets “N4 Questionable Authenticity” and comes back in a card saver, not a slab, with the fee still charged. Very occasionally a fake slips through.
What does PSA do with fake cards people send in?
It photographs them for its database and returns them to the submitter. It doesn’t confiscate or destroy them.
Does the PSA Guarantee cover a fake slab?
No. The terms exclude counterfeit or tampered holders and labels, even with a real cert number. You’d need to go back to the seller, the platform or your payment provider.
How can I tell if a PSA slab has been cracked and resealed?
Look for cloudy frosting or small cracks along the edges, and check whether the case flexes. A glued case may pop open under a fingernail pressed along the edge.
Why does my new PSA slab feel different from my old ones?
PSA has been moving to a heavier holder with no inner sleeve since 2024, first for sports cards and Japanese submissions. Plenty of Pokémon slabs still come in the older style, and that’s normal.